Kansas Suspends Income Tax Refunds, State Payroll, and Funding to Schools and Other State Department

so they are really not going to pay those who work for the state? How can they make people work for no money? I would start a protest or something if
I worked for the state. How in the world do they expect people to pay their bills. I thought the american systems was you work and someone pays you so
you can in turn pay your bills? I hope Missouris is not next.

I believe Missouri is a balanced-budget state, meaning by State Constitution, the Governor must balance the budget each year.

Gov. Jay Nixon laid out the grim budget during his State of the State address on January 27. According to his budget, the State of Missouri must
eliminate $900 million from the state budget.

The City of Kansas City, MO indicated last month they have to eliminate $60-90 million from their city budget. They have already declared an
immediate slashing in city services, including reduction of police officers by over 220.

While we may not be in the same situation as Kansas, the fact is like every other state, we live and die by property and retail taxes.

Foreclosures, lack of consumer spending will destroy us next.

Just wait until the commercial real estate bubble bursts in about a month or two.

State budget experts said Kansas is facing a $140 million deficit this year. Those same people are warning that the state could face a $1
billion shortfall in 2010

If they're in this much of a disaster over a $140 Million deficit, imagine next year facing 7 times that amount. Kansans, I'd strongly urge you all
to adjust the amount taken from your paycheck for taxes immediately. increase your listed exemptions, reduce your percentage witheld, do whatever you
need to do to ensure that at this time next year the state does not owe you a refund (while still trying to ensure that you're having just enough
witheld to prevent you having to cut a check to the state in the process.)

State budget experts said Kansas is facing a $140 million deficit this year. Those same people are warning that the state could face a $1
billion shortfall in 2010

If they're in this much of a disaster over a $140 Million deficit, imagine next year facing 7 times that amount. Kansans, I'd strongly urge you all
to adjust the amount taken from your paycheck for taxes immediately. increase your listed exemptions, reduce your percentage witheld, do whatever you
need to do to ensure that at this time next year the state does not owe you a refund (while still trying to ensure that you're having just enough
witheld to prevent you having to cut a check to the state in the process.)

In that KMBC-TV story, it goes on to indicate just how tough it will be for Kansas to slash any expenses:

Finding places to save money will be tough, according to Sebelius, because almost $4 out of every $5 in the budget goes for schools or taking care of
health needs for Kansas' poorest citizens.

A couple of years ago, the State of Kansas Supreme Court ruled that KS must pay hundreds of millions of dollars into education, by legal ruling. So
these dollars can't be touched.

Good luck coming up with even more creative areas to slash state expenses.

It is uninformed policies like this that are systematically destroying this nation. And it fills me with anger and sadness to witness the destruction
they cause on those of us who never had anything to do with that decision in the first place. Representative democracy my ass.

While I can't say the economic affairs of KS were my #1 reason for moving, but I got the heck outta there a year ago. It was quite obvious the
overall quality-of-life, in terms of employment, was better for me on the Missouri side.

I now work and reside on the Missouri, keeping my fingers crossed, we don't come close to crumbling like the state of my alma mater.

Personal property tax...It's like you're renting your own property. I'd fight back with that too.

[edit on 16-2-2009 by projectvxn]

Renting! that's funny. Just my one boat, that I was going to call about Tues. They want so much tax on it, that I have to pay them what I paid for it
in seven years. I don't know how Kansas could raise taxes any more.

Since I've been here, (my wife is from here), I never understood what the heck they did with all that money. I am from South Dakota and we had very
little tax.

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